There's only so many different ways Wetumpka Mayor Jerry Willis can use the word "excited," but he tried his best during a groundbreaking ceremony for Hampton Inn on Tuesday.

"It's just something that we have hoped and dreamed of for many, many years," Willis said. "We are working our plan to make Wetumpka the best place it can possibly be. We are excited about what we will be able to get tourism wise."

Officials gathered at the vacant property on South Main Street, next to Alabama Power Co. and Dairy Queen in downtown, to ceremoniously shovel dirt to signal the beginning of construction. Kishor Desai, a representative of the ownership group for Hampton Inn, said the goal is to have the 80-room hotel open for business by the end of February.

Desai said the project would cost more than $7 million and will take up an estimated 40,000 square feet.

That the Hampton Inn is coming to Wetumpka isn't exactly a news flash. The Advertiser wrote about it in January 2014, when the Wetumpka City Council approved the property purchase. While an initial construction start date was set for May 2014, the city had to use the time to complete infrastructure work and approve plans for the space.

The original Hampton Inn announcement was made one month before the scheduled completion of Wind Creek, Wetumpka's 20-story hotel, owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, that now looms over the Coosa River. Willis discussed the close proximity of the two hotels, which sit about a mile from each other and use the nearby river as a tourist attraction.

"They stay booked at about 80-85 percent during the week and nearly 100 percent during weekends," Willis said. "It will be encouraging to catch the overflow from there."

Wetumpka Mayor Jerry Willis, left and Kishor Desai, representative of the ownership group, second from left, speak during a groundbreaking for a new Hampton Inn on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, on South Main Street in Wetumpka, next to Alabama Power. Shannon Heupel/Advertiser

Kishor Desai, representative of the ownership group, speaks during a groundbreaking for a new Hampton Inn on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, on South Main Street in Wetumpka, next to Alabama Power. Shannon Heupel/Advertiser

Kishor Desai, representative of the ownership group, left, speaks during a groundbreaking for a new Hampton Inn on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, on South Main Street in Wetumpka, next to Alabama Power. Shannon Heupel/Advertiser

Kishor Desai, representative of the ownership group, left, speaks during a groundbreaking for a new Hampton Inn on Tuesday, April 28, 2015, on South Main Street in Wetumpka, next to Alabama Power. Shannon Heupel/Advertiser

Willis said they have developed a good relationship with PCI and credits them for bringing increased tourism to the area. The increased traffic puts wear and tear on city roads, however, and a gasoline tax helps fund the resurfacing.

"We are hoping the traffic that's coming in is buying gasoline from us to improve that tax collection," Willis said.

The City of Wetumpka receives neither lodging nor sales tax revenue from Wind Creek Wetumpka as the property sits on trust land, a term used for land owned by an Indian tribe. The trust land in this case is owned by PCI and is not subject to taxes by any other government.

Willis also explained a key difference between lodging and sales tax, noting that lodging tax collects 12 cents on the dollar while sales tax collects three cents.

"That will be instrumental to us as we develop other things in the city," Willis said.

Other projects include the ongoing redevelopment of downtown, expansions to the Wetumpka Sports Complex, a Riverwalk that will connect various points in the city and loft living in downtown. While the city already has two small hotels in addition to Hampton Inn, there is a possibility for more lodging to be built in the city.

"We know we can support three hotels in conjunction with what PCI is doing," Willis said.